Where is ‘REGGIE’ from?

The idea of REGGIE was born on a road ride with buddies: “Hey, what if we did a spoof of one of those cycling videos!? We could glue on some beards, Sharpie tattoos up our arms, and then we have to convert it to black and white...and the name on the shorts would be ‘REGGIE’!”

It was the Rapha Cycling Club that made me do it. Someone from London called to see how the riding was going and if I had any questions they could answer: “Yeah. Would it be OK if I wore my RCC kit in a big mountain bike race?” I knew what the response would be (it’s in the rules) but the Rapha rep was still surprised when I said “Cool. I’m going to make my own.” The first Classy Camo jersey was raced a few months later at Wilmington-Whiteface.

Then 2016 happened. My return to W-W ended with a smashed collarbone forcing me to skip my big Leadville objective. Instead, I subbed in an attempt at a Rapha Cent Cols Challenge in the Pyrenees. On day seven, I went for the ditch to avoid another rider and ended up breaking my neck – three broken vertebrae and a disc squeezed to the wrong place. The French surgeon said I was the luckiest man on earth that day not to be fully paralyzed.

Yeah, that changes things. But a broken neck is no reason for excuses. It’s a launching pad. The accident and recovery were like pulling a trigger. I’d be back on my bike. I’d conquer a CCC. If I can get through a broken neck, surely I can make the effort to do the things I love even more. Taking REGGIE to the next level has been one of those things.

And why “REGGIE”? Because Reggie Jackson is the coolest name from my childhood – Mr. October, baseball hall of famer, car nut, good guy. I have used REGGIE as my pseudonym for all my crazy pastimes because it’s such a fun name. Just saying REGGIE is guaranteed to make you smile.

I love to ride my bike. It’s fun and awesome. REGGIE is about keeping it that way.

Photo: Jeff on Day 5 of the Pyrenees Cent Cols Challenge, 2 days before his crash.